The capital will see more fire deaths if the next Mayor of London does not tackle the London Fire Brigade waiting times crisis, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in London has said.
The stark warning comes as the FBU release a new video that endorses Sadiq Khan’s campaign for city hall. The video, called Every Second Counts, shows how a number of deaths have been linked to lengthy response times to fires.
Paul Embery, regional secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in London, said: “The claim made by Boris Johnson that you can cut frontline firefighter jobs, close stations and axe equipment and still maintain the same level of public safety has been shredded.”
“The next mayor will need to take urgent action to deal with a problem which is contributing to the deaths of Londoners. The Fire Brigades Union believe Sadiq Khan is the best choice for London and its firefighters.”
The London Fire Brigade have a six minute attendance time target for the first fire engine to make it to the scene of an emergency and an eight minute target for the second engine. A series of fire deaths have been linked to fires not being attended to on time.
The victims include Choi Yip who jumped from the third floor of his residence which was on fire in October 2015 after it took more than 13 minutes for a fire engine to arrive. Raymond Lister died in February after the first fire engine took nearly nine minutes to reach him. Dr Claire Sheppey died in March when the attendance time for the second fire engine was breached.
The government's own figures, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government last year, show how response times to fires are now at a 20 year high across the country.
